A new report said child welfare workers should have known more about the violent background of a group home resident who has been charged in the slaying of a jogger in a central Ohio park.

The report released Wednesday by Franklin County Children Services said it needs to better assess youths who end up in group homes. The agency also said it plans a review of all its group-home placements.

The 16-year-old boy is accused of the fatal stabbing of 55-year-old Jane Juergens, who was attacked on Oct. 20 as she went for a run in a park in Blendon Township near Columbus.

In the report of the 125 cases studied, about 15 percent of the group-home teens had violent, aggressive or self-harming behavior.
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A children’s services agency in central Ohio says it will review all of its group home placements after a 16-year-old group home resident was charged with fatally stabbing a jogger in a park.

Franklin County Children Services announced the plans Wednesday night. They came in response to a 16-year-old foster child being charged with the fatal stabbing of a 55-year-old woman in Ridgewood Park on Oct. 20.

Officials said the review will include visits with each foster child and a study of supervision levels and qualifications of staff.

Agency executive director Chip Spinning said the review process will include a look at children “with any fixation on violence or weapons.”

He said the agency wants “to do everything possible to learn from this.”
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